“Ivan staggered a few yard, then stopped at the stone wall that surrounded his house, and bent over. A swell of nausea rose from his gut. His diaphragm jerked tight, and he vomited. Good Run. Damn Good Run.”
The one extracurricular activity that has become a main priority in my life is my horses and barrel racing. Riding horses has become a stress reliever and a favorite pass time. It has become not only a sport, but a lifestyle. I began riding when I was only three years old. My mother bought me my very first pony and taught me how to ride.
I ran in my middle school’s track team for two years. I ran the mile, one hundred meter dash and triple jump. Out of all the events I participated in I absolutely despised the mile, I hated the aftermath the most. The feeling of my lungs burning, legs aching from the long run and the heavy asthmatic breathes. Although the mile had several cons, I loved the challenge and I was too stubborn to quit.
After years of practice, I progressed in the sport and joined my high school team. Initially, running track was a way of escaping the stress from my parents’ divorce. It taught me to endure more pain than I could have ever imagined. With each grueling stride, my mind would fight my aching body to quit. However, I would always find a way to stay determined and keep pushing forward.
Speeding up At the beginning of the cross country season I hated cross country absolutely hated it, I would walk down the hallway of saline middle school look at all of the pictures on the wall and saw some of kids running and thought why is My mom doing this to me? I thought I was a terrible at it, I would run like a 9 or 10 minute mile. So when the school year came along I dreaded the end of the day I would look at the clock and think a tiny bit longer, please just a wee longer (and that is very very rare.) When the season began I had a lot of trouble, whether it was keeping up or if it was breathing problems, and My friend Zaske (who was and still is much faster than me) was nice enough that instead of going up with all the faster kids he stayed back with me, but even when he was going his slowest I still had trouble keeping up he would try to encourage me by saying “come on Michael just a little faster,” and I would respond with “i'm…
Cross country is more than just a sport. Most people associate cross country with running, but there are other things that come to mind when I think of cross. Family, pasta parties, get togethers, overnights, and the most devoted teammates come to mind. My life has been changed by cross country in so many different ways. Since I joined the men's high school cross country team three years ago, I've picked up a ton of really valuable life skills.
BOOM! Thunder and rain shattered my eardrums as we passed the 20th McDonalds that day. The rain was coming down so hard that we could hardly see the road. This vacation will be one to remember. Every year, we go to Missouri to visit my mother’s family.
I would continue running track because I love the sport and the ways it pushes me to my physical and mental limits. With this sport, it has taught me discipline and dedication inside and outside the sport. I know no matter how fast I run or how hard I work, I can always do better. This sport has challenged me to do my best and beyond. When I would want to quit or stop running during a workout, I pushed through and endured.
As my high school athletic career comes to an end and I look back at past seasons of cross country and track I feel privileged and blessed to be a part of the sutton community. Cross country to me was a way of reliving stress after a long day of school and
To me, running is the greatest feeling I could ever feel. In my elementary days I knew I was the fastest kid on the playground. So naturally when I got to high school track was a must for me. My first track meet I was so nervous it felt like my heart was in my stomach. Then as I set myself up in my blocks, close my eyes, and wait for the gun to go off it was like everything went quiet.
Running, that word gives many people different emotions that range all the way from disgust to excitement. Most people will say that they would never willingly run, at least not without some motivation and other people might even say that they enjoy it. This is why the sport of cross country is so strange to people, in fact it is strange to me as well that people would willingly run, despite the fact that I actually run cross country. The main reason that people don 't think running is fun is because it is so physically challenging. Running requires you to always be on your game, the slightest injury or distraction can prevent you from doing your best.
The air burns your lungs as they fight for oxygen. Your feet pound the unsettled earth, sending shocks of pain through your legs. You can feel the microscopic tears destroying your muscles. Your body is fighting every stride, feeling the pain. Your mind begs you to stop, knowing the pain.
I have not been able to participate in athletics nearly as much as I would have liked. I started running track in the spring of my seventh grade year. I performed surprisingly well and decided to participate in cross country the next fall. I spent the summer training and preparing for the season, and it definitely showed. I ran in the varsity race for my first cross country meet ever.
All things in life can be enjoyable but also unexpected. Everyone has their own natural high. My natural high is riding my dirt bike. Even though riding my dirt bike is fun, it can also be very dangerous. It is very important to always wear safety gear while operating an off-road vehicle.
How is one to determine if one life is more important than another? Does it depend on age? On status? On location? Is a living human with family and friends and a job more important than just a fertilized egg?
